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Johnny Amato
Giovanni "Johnny" Amato was a businessman who built several boardwalks and hotels in Atlantic City in the 1930s. A multi-millionaire, Amato also obtained money through illicit means, as he had secret casinos in his hotels and also smuggled alcohol during Prohibition. Amato had the police and public officials in his pocket, allowing him to build his own independent empire in Atlantic City. He was assassinated by the Five Families to make Atlantic City an open city. Biography Giovanni Amato was born in Taurianova, Reggio Calabria in southern Italy, not too far from the town of Amato, from which his family gained their surname. Amato immigrated to the United States as a young child along with his parents, and they lived in New York City. Amato was not from a wealthy family, and he grew up in the poor parts of Brooklyn. Amato became a pickpocket as a youth and later carried out robberies and burglaries when he became a young man, seeking to make money for himself. Amato got involved with an Italian-American street gang consisting of Neapolitans and Calabrians in Brooklyn for a short time, and he was arrested in 1921 for the murder of a rival gang member during the Mafia-Camorra War. Amato decided to work with the heroin trade, gaining tens of thousands of dollars by selling the illegal drug to the people of New York. This was only a phase of his criminal career, as he decided to move on to bank robberies and other crimes of the like. Amato became a bootlegger during the Prohibition era, and he also became a gambler. In 1932, Amato decided to invest in new businesses as politicians fought to repeal Prohibition, which threatened to drive him out of business. Amato gained the support of several investors through negotiations or strong-arming and moved to Atlantic City, where he used the money to build hotels and boardwalks. He also built secret casinos and speakeasies in the buildings that he built, and he paid off law enforcement to look the other way whenever he was caught gambling or selling alcohol. Amato's operations earned him millions of dollars, and he became a major businessman in the criminal world. Amato had the public officials and the police on his payroll, and he ensured that his business went smoothly. Three years later, he approached the heads of New York City's Five Families and attempted to secure a deal where the families would provide him security in exchange for operating in an "open city" for crime. Atlantic City was not the turf of any family de jure, but Amato was the de facto boss of the city; he did not have a gang, but he relied on money to solve his problems rather than muscle. Amato secretly planned to capitalize off of their competition; if he raised the rates on the ownership of one hotel and the family that owned it could not pay him, he would get one of the other families to take over the hotel and pay him the higher price. Amato's plan was quickly anticipated by Don Vito Corleone of the Corleone crime family, who decided to call a meeting of the Five Families to discuss the issue. At the conference, Don Victor Stracci, Don Emilio Barzini, Don Carmine Cuneo, and Don Philip Tattaglia talked about the possible reactions to the event. Stracci was ambitious to expand the Stracci crime family and the Greco crime family of Philadelphia into Atlantic City, as the Grecos were their friends. Cuneo owned a few hotels there and was concerned that he might lose them, but Don Corleone explained to him that almost all of Amato's wealth was invested in hotels; if Amato were to die, all hotel owners would gain more income, as Amato's share would be divided between them. Amato was virtually powerless if he was struck first; he had no gang to speak of, and if he died, the police and feds would not care to go after his murderers, for they were only interested in helping him if he paid them. Vito also explained to them Amato's plan, and explained to them that Atlantic City would not truly be an "open city" if there was a criminal emperor who was collecting their income for his own empire. Amato had to go if they wanted to have their own operations in the city without a man collecting a percentage of their income. Death Don Corleone had secretly been plotting his assassination for a longer time. Previously, Amato gave him a tour of his hotels and his boardwalks, and told Corleone that he had the public officials in his pocket, giving him strength. Don Corleone had questioned why such a powerful man needed even more protection, and he responded that he did not want to pay money to the police, as the price kept on rising. Don Corleone quickly deciphered Amato's actions as an attempt to take advantage of the five families, and he returned to New York to discuss the offer with consigliere Genco Abbandando. Later, Don Corleone decided to arrange another meeting with Amato to give him his answer on the offer. At this meeting, Amato would be killed. Amato headed to the Mesopotamian Club, one of his businesses, where he sat at the bar to wait for Don Corleone to arrive. Instead, three hitmen entered the bar and opened fire on Amato with .38 Snub Nose pistols, killing him. They fled the scene, and Amato's empire swiftly crumbled. His assets were acquired by the families via third parties, and his police protection and public officials destroyed all records of their relationship with him to cover their tracks, fearing that they might be targeted next. The Five Families, plus the Greco family, got involved in the Atlantic City hotel and casino business without any interference from other powers, and Amato's empire was divided between them. Category:Businessmen Category:Americans Category:Calabrians Category:Killed